The Four Purples - How To Spanish - Tumblr

In Spanish there are four main ways to say “purple” when referring to the color and in general, they’re interchangeable. There are some differences, and some that aren’t used so often, but they’re all fairly common. ¾ of these have feminine endings so don’t change them to an “o” when conjugating, just use them as you would azul or verde, keeping the ending the same but adding plural when necessary.

1. Morado/a - morado/a refers to the darkest of purples. In its etymology it is linked to la mora which is a “blackberry” and is also related to mulberry. And yes, it’s connected to los moros "the Moors" as well, which is a bit racist but it wasn’t uncommon since the skin tone of black people used to be known as berenjena “eggplant”. In general, morado/a is used in classic definitions of color but in general speech not so much. It refers to a deep and dark purple, but la morada is actually a noun meaning “dwelling”, coming from morar which is “to inhabit/dwell”. It’s useful to know that morado/a is purple but it can be a bit of a jolt when you read something on archaeology and realize it’s “dwelling” and not “purple” they’re talking about. El morado can also refer to a dark “bruise”.

2. Púrpura - la púrpura is the next darkest and it tends to be a little bit antiquated. Púrpura has two basic meanings. The first is what’s known as Tyrian purple as it actually refers to a special mollusk which is where purple dye came from. The second is a bit more medical where una púrpura can refer to “blood” or a “bruise”. Although púrpura is the easiest to recognize it can almost sound a bit too clinical or specialized.

3. Violeta - violeta refers to “violet” and is the most common for purple that’s more red than blue and is the second lightest in color. This is the one that’s most common in my experience and other purples get known by different shades like mora “blackberry” or berenjena “eggplant”. Violeta also refers to the plant “violets” and so it’s easily recognizable.

*NOTE: El violeta refers to el color de violeta or “the color violet” so when you’re talking about the color use the MASCULINE article. La violeta refers to the la flor or la planta. The easiest way to discern is el color is masculine, la planta is feminine.

4. Lila - lila refers to “lilac” or “lavender” which makes it the lightest of the purples. Be aware that la lavanda “lavender” is used for the plant name and color name, but lila and lavanda are mostly interchangeable for colors. Soft purples are known by lila. And it’s very common, as is violeta. In truth, you’ll find that lila, violeta and rosa "rose, pink" are so common that they become women’s names.

*NOTE: Just like with violeta, el lila can refer to the color while la lila refers to a “lilac bush”. Though, this isn’t always the case, since I’ve seen la lila refer to the color but I always err on the side of caution.